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One of the craziest 'Game of Thrones' fan theories may actually come true this season

Cleganebowl Hound and Mountain Game of Thrones TI Graphics thumb 2x1
Skye Gould/Tech Insider

Warning: Spoilers ahead for "Game of Thrones," including speculation of future events.

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By now, most fans know that HBO’s hit show, “Game of Thrones,” is based on an original book series by George R.R. Martin. What they might not realize is that fans of the books have amassed dozens and dozens of predictions and theories that cover a wide range of characters.

Some of these guesses seem close to the mark, like the widely accepted assumption about Jon Snow’s true parentage. Other theories have more of a conspiracy feel to them — loosely connecting threads and unabashedly stretching the imagination. But there is one theory that rises above all others in the realm of insanity (bordering on genius). We’re talking about the “Cleganebowl."

It goes a little something like this:

Sandor "The Hound" Clegane is going to return to King’s Landing in order to fight his brother, Gregor "The Mountain" Clegane, to the death in a trial by combat for Cersei Lannister.

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The Hound Sandor Clegane
[Insert air horn noise here.] hbogo.com

This may sound a bit bizarre to those who have been following the show.

Wasn't The Hound left for dead in season four? And isn’t The Mountain lying under a sheet in some creepy guy’s laboratory? Even if they're both alive, why should I care if they fight?

All this, and more, to come.

First let’s look at why this theory is relevant right now based on events from season five and heading into season six.

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A champion for the crown

High Sparrow and Lancel
Lancel and the High Sparrow look on as Cersei is dragged to a cell. hbogo.com

In season five, episode seven, we saw the High Sparrow arrest Cersei and throw her into a cell to await trial. We learned afterward she was imprisoned for her role in King Robert’s death as well as her incestuous sexual habits with her twin brother, Jaime, and cousin, Lancel.

Now, on the show so far, we have never seen a trial concluded in a purely judicial manner. Tyrion has twice stood accused of crimes, and both times he demanded a trial by combat. A trial by combat allows the defendant to select a “champion” to represent him in a fight to the death against the selected champion of the prosecution. The guilt of the defendant is determined by whether their champion wins or loses.

*Minor spoilers ahead now for show-only fans*

From the books, we know that Cersei will demand a trial by combat. And her champion? Well this is where it gets a bit complicated.

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The undead Mountain

Qyburn and the Mountain
Qyburn concocts a plan to keep The Mountain from dying. hbogo.com

Gregor Clegane was called upon once to serve as champion for the crown. Back in season four, we watched in horror as Oberyn Martell battled against Gregor (commonly known as The Mountain). Oberyn managed to stab The Mountain with a poisoned spear, but it wasn’t enough to win the fight. The Mountain crushed Oberyn’s head in with his bare hands and won the trial by combat.

Since then, we have only had glimpses of The Mountain in what appeared to be various stages of experiments. Qyburn examined the poisoned wound and reassured Cersei that he has a plan to keep The Mountain alive.

When he was explaining to Cersei the gist of his plan, he warned her: "You should know. The process may change him, somewhat.”

Then, in episode three of season five, we got a glimpse into Qyburn’s laboratory when Cersei asked him to send a letter. While there, Cersei asked, “How’s your work coming along?” (referring to The Mountain's healing).

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Qyburn replied “Better than expected, but still a ways to go.”

Then we see a large shrouded figure in the background, and suddenly it writhes under the sheet.

Qyburn + The Mountain
hbogo.com

So we know that The Mountain is still alive in some capacity.

In the written series, Cersei writes to Qyburn from her prison cell and tells him to appoint a new member of the kingsguard — one that can serve as her champion for a trial by combat.

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Though the show skipped over this specific request from Cersei, Qyburn does introduce a new member of the kingsguard in the season-five finale.

After Cersei's "walk of shame" on the show, Qyburn brings forward an enormous man wearing the gold kingsguard uniform. His face beneath the helmet looks bluish-gray, and his eyes are a weird bloodshot red. The knight is likely none other than a zombified version of The Mountain that Qyburn has been experimenting on.

The Mountain Gregor Clegane Game of Thrones
In the books, Qyburn calls the undead Mountain "Ser Robert Strong." HBO

Who else in King's Landing is that massive? Plus Qyburn tells Cersei that the unnamed knight will not speak. "If it please your grace, he has taken a holy vow of silence," Qyburn says on the show. "He has sworn that he will not speak until all his grace’s enemies are dead, and evil has been driven from the realm."

That's a pretty good excuse to keep people from asking an undead dude to talk.

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So Cersei has her champion. But what about the Faith?

The Faith’s champion

In order to understand why fans think Sandor “The Hound” Clegane will be named the Faith’s champion, we must explore a tangential theory known as “the Gravedigger.” YouTube user Alt Shift X made a popular visual explanation of the theory — you can watch the full video here.

The basics of this theory center on The Hound, and how in both the book series and the show he is never actually seen dead. The last time we saw him on the show was in the season-four finale, when Arya left him grievously wounded. This same scenario happens in the books, though the fight that leaves him injured is different.

the hound season 4 game of thrones
The Hound's face is scarred from burns he sustained when his brother, The Mountain, shoved his face into a fire. Helen Sloan / HBO

In the books, Brienne of Tarth is wandering the country, looking for The Hound and (she hopes) Sansa or Arya. She goes to a place called the Quiet Isle, a sort of monastery for brothers of the Faith, and speaks to the Elder Brother.

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This Elder Brother knows much about The Hound and admits that he came across him while wounded and did his best to help him. Brienne then notices a very large man at the monastery who is digging graves. His head and face are almost completely covered, but Brienne can tell he is limping from what could be a healing leg wound (the exact type that The Hound sustained).

The Hound’s horse is at the Quiet Isle stables — another hint that The Hound is likely nearby. His horse is notorious for being uncontrollable by any other than The Hound himself.

Arya and the Hound
Arya left The Hound to die of brutal wounds, after refusing to mercy-kill him. Helen Sloan/HBO

Lastly, the Elder Brother is very vague when discussing The Hound’s supposed death. As Alt Shift X puts it, “The most he'll say about Sandor Clegane is that he's "at rest." So what the Elder Brother could be getting at is that the hateful, violent part of Sandor Clegane, called the Hound, is metaphorically dead, leaving Sandor Clegane "at rest," and most importantly for us, literally alive.

So the Gravedigger theory infers that not only is The Hound alive, but he has now been brought into the Faith and serves them as Sandor Clegane.

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Cleganebowl and the hype that won’t die

These two separate incidences — zombie Mountain and gravedigging Hound — have combined to give birth to the Cleganebowl theory.

It started in 2013, when a 4chan thread about “Game of Thrones” prompted a user to submit their theory.

Cleganebowl origin
4chan.com

The title for the theory likely was inspired by the 2013 NFL Superbowl when the coaches of the opposing teams also happened to be brothers: Jim and John Harbaugh. Football fans and sports announcers quickly nicknamed the game “The Harbowl.”

Since The Hound and The Mountain are brothers, and the theory assumes they will have an epic fight, Cleganebowl is the best-fitting title. They share the same last name — Sandor and Gregor Clegane — and this trial by combat would basically be the equivalent of a Westerosi Superbowl.

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This original 4Chan thread references the "Valonquar" prophecy, which we explained more here. The gist of it is that Cersei went to a fortune-teller when she was younger and was told that she would be killed by "the Valonqar." That is a term that means "younger brother."

So the Cleganebowl theory postulates that The Hound is the younger brother in the scenario, and his victory will lead to Cersei's execution.

Believers in the Cleganebowl are a unique brand of fans. The tagline that generally follows any online allusions to the involved characters is a simple: “GET HYPE.” An entire subreddit is dedicated to the converted believers, and this Google search history shows the spikes of interest over the years.

Cleganebowl search history
google.com/trends

Cleaganebowl subscribers have a flair for the unique. There is a group of YouTube videos that mash up footage from the show with glaring strobe-text and an intense hip-hop/dubstep/electronic music soundtrack. Here are some of the top-viewed ones [Warning: NSFW language, loud music, and lots of airhorns].

 

Cleganebowl is such a popular theory not just because of its outlandish fan base, but because it would actually be really awesome to watch play out. The Hound and The Mountain are two of Westeros' renowned fighters with a lot of anger to spare. They have an intense rivalry (remember it was The Mountain who disfigured The Hound's face when they were children) that would make a fight to the death extremely intense.

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Airhorns and Cleganebowl-hype meters aside, there is sufficient evidence for the two main components of the theory. The Mountain is most likely Ser Robert Strong and will represent Cersei in her trial by combat. It is also likely that The Hound is alive and living on the Quiet Isle.

So far, season five all but confirmed The Mountain's return. And — get hype — because the actor who plays The Hound (Rory McCann) was spotted in Northern Ireland during season-six filming. Whether The Hound will truly resurface on the show is another story, but those who believe the hype will certainly wait with bated breath to see if this insane theory comes true.

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